Following are a few highlights from the October U.S. industrial production report:
The production of consumer goods decreased 0.1 percent in October after having increased 0.8 percent in September. The output of durable consumer goods fell 0.2 percent, with gains for home electronics; appliances, furniture, and carpeting; and miscellaneous goods offset by a decrease in the index for automotive products. Among non-energy nondurables, gains for foods and tobacco, for clothing, and for paper products were partially offset by a loss for chemical products.
The output of business equipment rose 0.2 percent in October after an average monthly gain of 0.3 percent during the third quarter. The index for transit equipment declined 0.1 percent, the index for information processing equipment rose 0.2 percent, and the index for industrial and other equipment increased 0.3 percent. Over the past 12 months, the production of business equipment has advanced 5.1 percent, with similarly sized gains in each of its three major components.
The output of defense and space equipment rose 0.5 percent in October, following gains of 0.8 percent in September and 2.1 percent in August. Among nonindustrial supplies, construction supplies recorded its fifth consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, the output of business supplies moved up 0.2 percent in October; despite having gained 3.0 percent over the past 12 months.
The production of materials to be processed further in the industrial sector decreased 0.4 percent, a decline that was driven by a drop of 1.5 percent in the production of energy materials. The output of durable materials rose 0.3 percent, as increased production of equipment parts and other durable materials more than offset a decline in the output of consumer parts. The production of nondurable materials moved up 0.4 percent; textile, paper, and chemical materials each registered gains of 0.5 percent or more, while the index for other nondurable materials was little changed.
The complete October U.S. industrial production report, which includes tables and historical data, is available online.